Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage in the Production of Heavy Construction Materials

The production of cement, concrete, steel, bricks, precast elements, and otherheavy construction materials is associated with substantial carbon dioxide emissions,particularly from limestone calcination, fuel combustion, and high-temperaturematerial processing. Carbon capture, utilization, and storage represents an integratedtechnological framework capable of separating carbon dioxide from industrial exhaustgases, converting it into stable mineral phases, incorporating it into constructionproducts, or transporting it to permanent geological storage.This paper develops an advanced scientific framework for applying carbon capture,utilization, and storage to heavy construction materials. It integrates thermodynamics, chemical reaction kinetics, multiphase transport, porous-media mechanics,heat transfer, carbonation chemistry, process modeling, and life-cycle assessment.The principal utilization pathway considered is mineral carbonation, in which carbon dioxide reacts with calcium- and magnesium-bearing phases to produce stable carbonates such as calcium carbonate and magnesium carbonate.The governing equations are formulated using conservation laws, chemical-potentialrelationships, Arrhenius kinetics, diffusion-reaction models, Darcy transport, andporomechanical coupling. The performance of carbon capture, utilization, and storage-based construction materials depends on carbon dioxide pressure, relative humidity, temperature, pore connectivity, reactive oxide concentration, particle size,carbonation degree, and cement hydration. Direct carbonation, indirect mineral carbonation, carbonated recycled aggregates, carbon dioxide curing, calcium looping,oxy-fuel combustion, post-combustion absorption, and direct separation are identifiedas important technological routes.The analysis demonstrates that carbon capture, utilization, and storage shouldbe implemented as a coupled material-process system rather than as an isolatedcarbon-removal operation.